Fox's Challenge Book
by Foxdawn
Summary: This is where I, Fox, will keep all my one-shots and challenges for the various forums I am apart of. Come read, review, and become a member of the forums yourself! I guarantee it won't be a waste of your time. Watch various cats, and how the deal with their problems and trials in the wonderful world of warriors!
1. Masked Love (Children of the Shadows)

**Hello all! It is I, the fabulous Fox! Welcome to my brand-new challenge book! Shocking, right? I, Fox, who was once called "The hopeless little kitty who keep all her challenges separately to make it look like she has more challenges." Is now making my very own challenge book! I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

A thick blue-grey mist hovered just above the dew-laden grass that shimmered almost eerily in the silvery light of Silverpelt. The earth was gently bathed in the glittery light that filtered gently down from the dark sky above, and the glowing pelt of a lone cat stood out starkly against the faint glow of the grass.

The figure paused, his tail raised slightly, and his nose pointed into the wind. Though his pelt bristled nervously, his glassy eyes shone as the chilling breeze cut through his pelt, ruffling his grey-and-white fur and sending ice-like chills through his bones.

"Who is it?"

The tom lowered his head suddenly as a voice split through the silence of the night, seeming to cut through the very center of the full moon that rose above. His fur rose defensively, before he forced it down, unwilling to show fear.

He could see her, her ginger pelt in great contrast with the silvery world around her. She sat crouched under a holly bush, the dark leaves hiding most of her bright pelt. Her eyes glowed in the night, a dark yellow-green that flashed through the leaves from time to time, almost making him to believe that he was meeting a ghost.

"Who do you think?" The tom replied, smiling as he padded closer to where she hid. Relief washed over her face as she slipped out from under the spiked leaves, her eyes now shining a glassy white in the light of the moon.

"In this light I was afraid you were Blackwillow, returning home early with the rest of the Clan." She replied, pressing closely up against him. "When you're nervous, your mind plays tricks on you."

He purred. "Blackwillow, huh? Well you looked like yourself, a bright ginger flame, as always."

Dapplesong smiled softly, and touched her nose gently to Patchfur's, her cool touch surprising him slightly.

"Thank you for meeting me." She whispered, her scent swirling around him as he wove his tail around hers, fire and ice twining together into a single, powerful flame.

"Of course. Without this, I'd practically burst." He murmured. Dapplesong purred quietly, slowly closing her eyes in the calm of the night. After a moment's pause, Patchfur continued, nervousness clawing relentlessly at his belly.

"Dapplesong, there's something I need to tell you."

"Hmm?" Her eyes remained shut, which almost made it harder for Patchfur to bring himself to say it.

"Well...Paleheart...she's...she's expecting kit. My kits."

Dapplesong's green eyes blinked open, and her smile disappeared, replaced by a look of deep consideration.

After a long moment of unbearable nervousness on Patchfur's part, she finally spoke, her words soft.

"Does that mean you want to...stop?"

"No!" He meowed fiercely, more so than he had meant to. "No, Dapplesong. We can't stop. I couldn't..." He paused, words swirling through his mind. "Paleheart was once the cat I loved. She was my mate, and now she's carrying my kits. But...I know now that my choice to be with her was the wrong one. Dapplesong, I was you to be my mate."

Dapplesong's eyes glowed with happiness as Patchfur finished speaking. "But...what about Paleheart?"

Patchfur hesitated a moment, then sighed heavily. "Dapplesong, I still care for her. Not as a mate, but as a close friend. She's been there for me...always. We've been friends for as long as I can remember, and for that reason, we have to stop."

"But Patchfur! You said-"

"I know what I said, Dapplesong." Patchfur meowed, placing his tail over the ginger she-cat's mouth so that he may speak. "That's what I want. I want to keep this going, but Paleheart needs her kits to have a father. I need to be that cat, Dapplesong. Because if I'm not, then they won't have anyone to be there for them. You see, don't you?"

Dapplesong nodded, though Patchfur could see her eyes glistening with sadness as she dropped her gaze. "What will I do without you?"

"I'll still be here. I'll still be that cat you love, but we have to be apart, at least for a few more moons." Patchfur whispered, fearing that his voice might crack with the words he was saying. "It's time we head back to camp. The Clan will be back from the Gathering."

...

The two walked in silence through the silver-clad wood back to the clearing that housed the entrance to AmberClan's camp. Patchfur could still feel Dapplesong's warm fur pressed up against his side as they emerged into the clearing. Dapplesong stood close by his side, almost refusing to go, before finally turning away and disappearing into the mouth of the cave. Patchfur remained rooted to the place he stood as her ginger form melted into the shadows, watching until even the very top of her bright tail had faded.

A moment later, a long-furred brown she-cat emerged from the shadows, her troubled amber eyes glancing back into the depths of the cave. When she spotted Patchfur, the trouble dissolved from her eyes and was replaced with a warm glow.

"Patchfur!" Paleheart meowed, bounding forward to bump noses with the grey-and-white tom. "I just got back from the Gathering. Why are you still awake?"

Patchfur didn't answer, his eyes remained fixed on the spot where Dapplesong had vanished.

"Patchfur?" Paleheart prodded. "You don't look very happy for someone who's going to be a father in a few moons. What's bothering you?"

Patchfur forced a smile and tore his gaze away from the cave entrance, his heart sinking as he looked into Paleheart's loving yellow eyes. "I'm fine, my sweet. You must be tired after the Gathering. Let's get some rest."

Paleheart wove her thick brown tail around Patchfur's as the two AmberClan warriors padded into the darkness of the cave. Despite the half-light, Patchfur could see Dapplesong's fiery ginger form crouched by the rainpool, sadness clouding her gaze as she refused to look at him. The grey-and-white tom lowered his gaze and padded with Paleheart by his side to stand among the warriors nests. He wordlessly lowered himself into the nest, Paleheart pressed closely against his side, and looked across the dimly lit cave to watch Dapplesong as she slowly rose to her paws and curled up in her own nest, several tail-lengths away from Patchfur.

He closed his eyes, unable to bear the sight of her so alone and heartbroken. We wished with all that he had in him that he could go to her, and sit by her side, comforting her as she drifted into sleep.

 _But I can't._ He thought bitterly.

 _I have to do this for Paleheart._

 _I have to._


	2. One-Way Wish (Children of the Shadows)

**Words - At least 300**

 **Description - A tom is in love with a she-cat and tries to get her attention but she ignores/hates him. The rest is up to you**

 **Additional Info - You can do it the other way around. OC or canon**

* * *

 **~WINDCLAN~**

 **Leader:** Dapplestar - brown solid-colored she-cat with green eyes ( _Apprentice, Maplepaw)_

 **Deputy:** Squirrelfang - red-brown tom with silver tabby stripes on his tail and orange eyes ( _Apprentice, Duckpaw)_

 **Medicine Cat:** Heavyfoot - fat, light brown tabby tom with green eyes ( _Apprentice, Flintpaw)_

 **Warriors:**

Dewpelt - silver tabby tom with white paws

Finchtail - mottled gold-and-brown tabby she-cat ( _Apprentice, Fuzzypaw)_

Newtfoot - silver tom with black tabby stripes and orange eyes ( _Apprentice, Frogpaw)_

Tallfoot - long-limbed black-and-white mottled tom

Longwhisker - long-furred dark-brown tabby tom ( _Apprentice, Deerpaw)_

Fernberry - small ginger tabby she-cat _(queen)_

Dawnrose - light brown she-cat with dark tabby stripes and orange eyes ( _Apprentice, temporarily Tallpaw)_

Larkflower - golden-furred solid-colored she-cat _(queen)_

Downpelt - long-furred golden tom with white spots

Birdpetal - tortoiseshell she-cat with a golden underbelly

Curlpelt - black she-cat with red-brown tabby stripes on her tail

Littleclaw - small brown tom with amber eyes ( _Apprentice, Lightningpaw)_

Quietstream - small red-brown tabby she-cat _(Apprentice, Graypaw)_

Cloudwhisker - white short-furred tom ( _Apprentice, Rushpaw)_

Storkfur - very dark brown tom with black tabby stripes ( _Apprentice, Lilypaw)_

Loudsong - light brown tom with black tabby stripes _(Apprentice, Alderpaw)_

Redheart - dark brown solid-colored tom with amber eyes ( _Apprentice, Foxpaw)_

Yarrowstripe - white she-cat

 **Apprentices:**

Fuzzypaw - golden-brown long-furred tabby tom

Frogpaw - golden tabby tom

Tallpaw - long-limbed broad-shouldered grey-brown tabby tom

Deerpaw - brown tabby tom with bright green eyes

Flintpaw - black tom with a brown underbelly

Maplepaw - red-brown long-furred tabby she-cat

Graypaw - grey tabby she-cat with white spots

Foxpaw - long-furred brown tabby she-cat with hazel eyes

Rushpaw - long-limbed black-and-white tom

Alderpaw - black-and-white long-furred tabby tom

Lilypaw - golden-brown tabby she-cat with orange eyes

Duckpaw - brown tabby tom with white spots

Lightningpaw - large mottled golden-brown tabby tom with long fur

 **Kits:**

Sharpkit - tan tom with grey tabby stripes

Goldkit - pale golden she-cat

Parsleykit - red-brown tabby she-cat

Bearkit - grey-brown tabby tom

Wildkit - ginger-gold tabby tom with green eyes

Leafkit - golden-brown long-furred tabby tom

Thornkit - pale golden solid-colored tom with green eyes

Nightkit - dark brown-and-black mottled tabby she-cat

Sweetkit - black she-cat with amber eyes

Marshkit - yellow tom with tan tabby stripes

 **Elders:**

Silverdusk - small, silver tabby she-cat

Thrushnose - grey tabby she-cat with green eyes

* * *

 _Foxpaw flicked her tail away_ from her nose as she blinked awake, suddenly feeling a cold vacancy in the nest beside her. She glanced toward the den entrance, where she caught sight of Maplepaw and Duckpaw carefully stepping around their sleeping denmates as they slipped out into the early morning mist to where Foxpaw assumed Squirrelfang awaited them to begin the dawn patrol.

She shifted in her nest, sliding in closer against Lilypaw's warm, golden-brown pelt. Her paws itched to follow after her friends and join them on the dawn patrol.

 _Gorsedawn loved to take me on the dawn patrol._ Foxpaw thought wistfully, her mind beginning to drift back to the last Gathering, when Alderbelly had made his decision to join ShadowClan, taking his mate and kits with him and leaving WindClan behind.

Foxpaw had begged her mentor to stay in WindClan, to stay and find a mate and kits and stay with her friends in her birth Clan. Foxpaw could see that Gorsedawn's loyalty still fell with WindClan, but she knew that her mentor's loyalty to her family was even stonger.

In the end, Foxpaw had been forced to watch helplessly as her mentor and best friend left with her parents and littermates to become part of ShadowClan.

 _At least I'll still see her at Gatherings._ Foxpaw thought in a vain attempt to brighten up. It had been three days since Gorsedawn and her family had left WindClan for good. Since then, Foxpaw had barely left the WindClan camp. She no longer had a mentor, and most of the warriors already had apprentices.

"Lilypaw! Deerpaw! Rushpaw! Time to get going!" Foxpaw pricked her ears a the sound of Longwhisker's voice calling into the apprentice den. Beside her, Lilypaw immediately sat up, running a paw over her ears before flicking her tail in greeting to Foxpaw and following the toms out of the den and into the growing sunlight.

Foxpaw watched glumly as the three left the den, leaving only Frogpaw in the den with her, his golden-furred form barely visible at the back of the den. She sat in silence for a moment, before finally rolling to her paws and shaking the moss out of her fur.

As she rose to her paws, she caught sight of movement from Frogpaw's place at the back of the den. The golden-furred tom blinked his eyes open blearily as he, too, staggered to his paws.

"How late were you up last night?" Foxpaw asked, amused at her friend's vacant expression.

"Too late." Came the drowsy response. "Where's Fuzzypaw?"

"I don't know. He was gone before Squirrelfang left with the dawn patrol." She replied. "I'm surprised Newtfoot let you sleep this late."

"Me too. Usually he gets me up with the dawn patrol."

Foxpaw suppressed a purr of amusement. _That's Newtfoot alright. No time for dawdling._

"Well, I'd better get going before he hunts me down and finds that I've been hibernating." Frogpaw smiled as he padded to the mouth of the burrow. "See you later."

"Yeah."

Foxpaw sat alone in the burrow, the sounds of the Clan exchanging morning greetings and apprentices joking with one another drifted down into the warm darkness that surrounded her. Finally, she forced herself to her paws and padded into the sunlight.

 _Looks like the rain has cleared up._ She thought, blinking as the golden rays streamed down into her eyes.

"Foxpaw! There you are." Lilypaw appeared suddenly at her sister's side, gently giving the long-furred she-cat's shoulder a nuzzle. "Dapplestar was looking for you."

"Dapplestar? Why?"

Lilypaw shrugged. "How should I know?"

"Do you know where she went?" Foxpaw asked, scanning the WindClan camp for any sight of the Clan leader's brown pelt.

"I think she went into the warriors' burrow. Maybe Dawnrose would know." Lilypaw responded.

"Thanks." Foxpaw bounded away from her sister and padded across camp to the opening of the burrow that the warriors occasionally slept in. Usually, WindClan warriors slept under the open sky, however, it had begun to rain during the night, so most of the apprentices and warriors and retreated into the dry warmth of a burrow.

Foxpaw slipped into the den, nearly colliding with Deerpaw as she did so.

"Oh! Hi. Sorry." Foxpaw meowed, embarrassed. "I didn't see you there."

Deerpaw said nothing, only flicked his tail and nodded in response.

"Have you seen Dapplestar?" Foxpaw asked, feeling her ears growing warm with embarrassment. "Lilypaw said that she was looking for me."

"No. I haven't." He said.

"Oh. Okay. Sorry." Foxpaw mewed as Deerpaw nodded and slipped out of the den.

 _I'm so stupid!_ Foxpaw scolded herself. _Why can't I just act natural around him? Why do I always become a stuttering mousebrain?_

Ever since Foxpaw had begun to have feelings for the older apprentice, it had become increasingly difficult for her to talk to him without feeling awkward or out of place. It didn't help that Deerpaw was naturally gruff and perfectionistic about almost everything.

 _That's why he ignores you. Because you can hardly have a regular conversation with him, and that's the second time since the Gathering that you've nearly rammed into him._ Foxpaw thought.

"Foxpaw, Dapplestar is looking for you."

Foxpaw was snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of her name. She looked up quickly to see Redheart, Deerpaw's littermate, slip into the den behind her.

"Okay. Where is she?" Foxpaw asked.

"She's under Tallrock. Come on." Redheart flicked his tail in beckoning as he climbed out of the burrow, Foxpaw following after him. The two made their way across the camp before joining Dapplestar beneath Tallrock.

"You wanted to see me, Dapplestar?" Foxpaw said, dipping her head as she sat down before her leader, Redheart beside her.

"Yes. It's been a few days since Gorsedawn left, so I think it's time you had a mentor again. You haven't exactly been doing much since she left." Dapplestar shook her head before flicking her tail in Redheart's direction.

"I was thinking about making Redheart your mentor. How does that sound?"

 _Redheart?_ Foxpaw thought in disbelief and excitement. _He's barely more than an apprentice himself! But if I spend more time with him, I might be able to spend more time with Deerpaw as well. Maybe Deerpaw will have feelings for me, too._

"That sounds good." Foxpaw nodded, sneaking a glance at Redheart, who smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Perfect." Dapplestar leapt onto Tallrock. "Cats of WindClan!"

* * *

 _Foxpaw grunted as she was_ thrown to the earth, the wind knocked out of her.

 _Please don't let Deerpaw have seen that._ She begged silently as she rolled to her paws and shook the grass out of her pelt. She glanced behind her to where Deerpaw, and Maplepaw sat along with their mentors, and felt her heart sink at the sight of Deerpaw's green gaze fixed on her.

"Come on, Foxpaw!" Redheart called encouragingly from where he sat at his brother's side. "Pin him down!"

Foxpaw lashed her tail, gritting her teeth as she turned back to face Fuzzypaw, who was slowly creeping toward her. The older apprentice's golden-brown pelt blended in almost perfectly with the moor grass, making it difficult for Foxpaw to monitor his movements.

She dropped to a crouch, hiding herself in the moor grass. She could feel her limbs tense in anticipation, her ears swiveling in an attempt to pinpoint Fuzzypaw's location. Foxpaw's heartbeat pounded in her ears, every breath she took seeming to echo across the moor as she waiting for the older apprentice's attack. She paused at the barely-audible sound of movement from in front of her, then she leaped up into the air.

The younger apprentice let out a gasp as her body collided with Fuzzypaw's, knocking them both out of the air and sending them tumbling back down into the moor grass. Foxpaw immediately rolled to her paws, tail lashing, as she prepared for Fuzzypaw's next attack. The older apprentice silently circled her for a moment, before jabbing his paw out and swiping her legs out from under her. Foxpaw yowled as she hit the earth, Fuzzypaw quickly placing his paws on her chest, pinning her down.

Foxpaw groaned inwardly as Fuzzypaw stepped off of her, offering a small, encouraging smile. _I am a mousebrain._

"Nice try." Fuzzypaw meowed softly as the two walked back to the group awaiting them.

"Thanks." Foxpaw replied, smiling outwardly but silently feeling no more important than a heap of earth. _If I can't even perform a simple attack move, how will Deerpaw ever notice me?_

"Great job, Foxpaw." Redheart said reassuringly.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do it." She replied bitterly, lowering her gaze as she could feel the eyes of Maplepaw and Deerpaw settling on her.

"No problem!" Redheart meowed, surprise evident in his voice. "Fuzzypaw is just about ready to become a warrior. You've still got a few moons. You put up a great fight."

Foxpaw blinked thankfully at Redheart. _Thank you for being amazing._ She meowed silently.

"Come on, let's head back to camp." Finchtail meowed, flicking her tail and leading the younger warrior and apprentices back through the sea of waving moor grass.

* * *

 _Standing alone in the center_ of the camp, Dapplestar's pelt glowed amber as the setting sun splashed its rays of shimmering light over the moor. The shadows were slowly lengthening, Fuzzypaw's small yet muscular frame sending a tall black shape walking gracefully beside him as he padded to stand beside his Clan leader.

Foxpaw felt her pelt bristle uncomfortably as Deerpaw shifted slightly in his place beside her. She was beginning to strongly regret her decision to sit beside the older apprentice, but she couldn't resist.

Dapplestar cleared her throat and began to speak as Fuzzypaw sat down beside her.

"I have gathered you all here to witness the making of a new warrior. Seeing as he was born in the same moon as Redheart, his ceremony is long overdue."

Foxpaw winced at Dapplestar's words, feeling Deerpaw tense beside her, his green eyes flashing. _Deerpaw is Redheart's littermate. Why hasn't Dapplestar made_ him _a warrior yet_?

"I, Dapplestar, leader of WindClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn."

At this point, Deerpaw was glaring hard at his mother. So much that Foxpaw wondered how Dapplestar hadn't noticed her son's hard gaze. On the other side of her, Foxpaw could feel Redheart's discomfort radiating off of his pelt.

Gently, Foxpaw placed her tail on Deerpaw's shoulder, desperately hoping that he could keep his anger in check. Out of the corner of her eye, Foxpaw could see Maplepaw doing the same as she sat on the other side of the bristling apprentice, her eyes fixed nervously on Fuzzypaw's lean form.

"Fuzzypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Dapplestar asked, turning to face the long-furred apprentice.

"I do." Fuzzypaw replied solemnly.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Fuzzypaw, from this moment forward you will be known as Fuzzyfur. StarClan honors your honesty and diligence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of WindClan."

Dapplestar rested her muzzle on Fuzzyfur's head, and the new warrior respectfully licked her shoulder before dipping her head and murmuring something to her.

"Fuzzyfur!" The Clan called, though Foxpaw was hesitant to join in the congratulations. Beside her, Deerpaw was still glaring up a storm, and the last thing she wanted to deal with was the older apprentice's wrath.

Redheart quickly leapt to his feet to congratulate his friend, Maplepaw following closely behind as her pride in her brother shone in her eyes.

Foxpaw remained where she was sitting, silently wishing to comfortingly press her pelt against Deerpaw's, but instead sitting silently by his side.

"I'm sorry." She murmured silently, barely daring to breathe.

Deerpaw didn't answer, instead he rose to his feet and slipped into the apprentices' den, his brown tabby tail lashing angrily.

 _StarClan help him._ Foxpaw thought as she rose to her paws to congratulate Fuzzyfur.

 _And me too, for that matter._

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed my challenge for _Children of the Shadows_. I will most likely have another one up soon.**

 **I am not actually joining forums due to the lack of free time that I have in my life, but when I do have free time, I will browse forums to find fun challenges, and give that forum credit for the challenge.**

 **Now, I have decided to have a Guess-The-Cat section at the end of each one of my stories. It will be a guess-the-cat using the characters from my challenges. However gets it right gets imaginary cookies!**

 **Who is Foxpaw's mentor's older brother's apprentice's mother?**


	3. Young Vow (ChallengeClan)

**Young Vow**

* * *

 _A loud cough echoed through_ the den, causing Darkkit to shiver and his fur to bristle. He glanced at Gorsekit as the loud coughs from the tiny red-brown she-cat reverberated through his ribcage. He could feel the pain and anguish rolling off of his friend's matted fur as she writhed in her nest, her green eyes bright with fear.

"Hush, little one." Acornbelly meowed softly, stepping between Darkkit and Gorsekit, his blue-grey tail pushing the young tom away from the sickly she-kit. As he spoke, he placed a small bundle of herbs down onto the floor of the den and began to nose through them. Darkkit wrinkled his nose at their scent, the strong smell cutting into his tender scent glands and burning his throat.

"Acornbelly! I can't see!" Darkkit cried, leaping away from the tom's tail in an attempt to get closer to the pitiful cries of his sickly friend.

"That's the point, Darkkit." Acornbelly replied, exasperated. "Greencough is highly contagious. That's why she's here, and why you should be in the nursery."

"But I want to see her!" He complained.

"You two can play once she feels better." The medicine cat responded, though to Darkkit, his voice sounded uncertain and nervous. Gorsekit seemed to notice this as well, as she let out a small, mournful mew.

"But Acornbelly, what if I don't get better?" She asked, looking up at the two toms with wide, frightened green eyes.

Acornbelly blinked slowly, attempting to discreetly swallow back his fears as he mewed out gentle encouragement.

"Gorsekit, you will get better. I'm doing all that I can to help you." Acornbelly assured her. Then, turning to the dark tom kit beside him, he waved his tail between the two young kits and gently pushed his tail against Darkkit's broad shoulders.

"No! Don't make him leave, please, Acornbelly." Gorsekit wailed, her liquid-green eyes widening in fear and panic.

"Gorsekit, you don't want Darkkit to get sick, do you?" Acornbelly asked firmly.

"No, but I don't want him to leave. What if I don't get better, and he forgets me?" The young she-kit asked with round, frightened eyes.

"Gorsekit, I won't ever forget you." Darkkit assured her, shouldering his way past Acornbelly's tail and leaning over Gorsekit's nest. "I promise that no matter what happens, you'll always be my best friend. Even when we're warriors, I'll be there by your side."

Gorsekit smiled weakly, swallowing her fears and nodding hesitantly. "I promise too."

"Great." Darkkit mewed, smiling down at her. "I'll see you when you're better. Promise you'll get better?"

"I promise." She replied after a moment of hesitation.

"Good." Darkkit stepped away from Gorsekit's mossy nest and padded to the entrance of Acornbelly's den. "Bye, Acornbelly. Thank you!"

Acornbelly waved his tail in acknowledgement of Darkkit's call, and the young tabby tom slipped out of the den and into the cold moor air.

* * *

 _The wind bit into Darkfur's_ tabby pelt as the moonbeams danced across the moor and the stars flickered gleefully above him. Snowflakes drifted down lazily from the scattered clouds, flecking his fur and that of his companions as they trekked across the dancing grass. His paws crunched on the dry moor grass and he shook the snowflakes out of his pelt as their uncomfortable moisture began to seep into his ruffled tabby fur.

Yarrowstripe and Loudsong pressed close to his pelt, the warmth from their fur sending comforting shivers through his wind-pierced body. Darkfur swiveled his ears at the distant sound of gathered cats already beginning to mingle and fellowship.

The group of WindClan cats paused at the pebbly shore to the lake. Darkfur shifted his paws, the cold, smooth lake stones sending a burst of cold up through his legs and racing through his chilled limbs. Warily, he eyed the lapping waves of the lake, his pelt bristling at the thought of slipping from the tree bridge and into its cold welcome.

 _Good thing I'm more careful at that._ He thought, watching as Foxpaw and Tallpaw leapt up onto the tree bridge, Fuzzyfur and Redheart close behind them.

"Do you think Gorsedawn or her family will be here?" Foxpaw was asking Redheart as she glanced over her shoulder. Darkfur froze, an odd mix of terror and excitement coursing through his pelt at the thought of seeing Gorsedawn.

She had been his best friend. And then, she was gone. Gone, with barely a warning or a goodbye.

According to Echofang, both Echofang and Gorsedawn had been visited by StarClan on the night of their warrior vigil. During their visit, StarClan told the two she-cats that they were to take their family and move to ShadowClan. Three moons later, Echofang, Gorsedawn, Alderbelly, Doveheart, Rowanpaw, and Hawkpaw abandoned their birth Clan and gave their loyalty to ShadowClan.

Darkfur lashed his tail. _It was six moons ago that Echofang and Gorsedawn were "visited" by StarClan. Why didn't Gorsedawn tell me? Why did she keep something so important from me?_

Instead of confiding in her friend, Gorsedawn had announced to the whole Clan that they were leaving. It was without warning and received with disbelief. And, in Darkfur's case, anguish.

 _She didn't tell me. She didn't trust me. Why didn't she trust me? What did I do?_

Darkfur knew he was being selfish. He wasn't the only one who had been affected by their betrayal, after all. Foxpaw had been left without a mentor, and poor Cloudwhisker, who had been padding after Gorsedawn, was swiftly abandoned just as the rest of the Clan had been.

Despite the knowledge of his own selfishness, Darkfur felt that he had the most right to be angry at the treason of Gorsedawn. They had promised to be friends, to always trust the other, no matter what might happen. But instead, Gorsedawn broke her word, and hid the most important decision of her life hidden from his view.

Although he knew it was just the silly promise of two over-dramatic kits, Darkfur still felt lied to. And it hurt more than he knew it should.

"Darkfur, are you coming?" The dark tabby tom lashed his tail as Loudsong's call brought him back from his thoughts. Wordlessly, Darkfur set his jaw and leapt up onto the tree bridge behind his littermate.

Despite the snow that had begun to steadily fall from the darkened sky, the tree bridge was quite dry and very little ice had clung to its weathered branches. Even still, Darkfur held tightly to the tree with his claws unsheathed, his fur puffed up nervously.

"What's wrong, Darkfur?" Yarrowstripe teased, glancing over her shoulder. "Afraid of a little wet?"

"Well I'm not overly fond of it." He replied quickly, lashing his tail good-naturedly.

"Come on!" Loudsong goaded, leaping off of the tree bridge and landing on the Gathering Island, the light from the moon turning his glossy tabby pelt into a glimmering silver fire.

Yarrowstripe and Foxpaw quickly followed after Loudsong and Redheart, the WindClan cats mingling in with the other Clans. Dapplestar and Squirrelfang, however, sat near the edge of the clearing, seeming hesitant to initiate a conversation with the other Clans, their fur puffing up any time a ShadowClan cats came near them.

Darkfur could understand their hesitancy. Only a few moons ago, ShadowClan had taken six of WindClan's most trusted cats and turned them into ShadowClan warriors. This simple act of betrayal had affected WindClan in more ways than just missing close friends. Distrust now hung heavily over the moor cats, each cat seeming silently wary of its friends and family, wondering if they too would swap loyalties at the drop of a feather.

He lingered on the bridge for a moment, the chill leaf-fall air swooping across his moonlit pelt. Steeling himself, Darkfur dug his claws into the tree before leaping down and feeling the soft feeling of withered moss beneath his paws.

Slowly, Darkfur padded through the clearing, offering polite greetings to the other Clan cats as he went. As he neared the other side, he felt a wave of relief wash over him. He hand't seen Gorsedawn. She probably didn't attend.

For some reason, the thought did not give him as much comfort as it should have. Rather, disappointment tugged at his paws while sorrow hung in his throat. Though he didn't want to admit it, he missed her.

 _Maybe next moon I'll be able to-_

"Darkfur?"

He swung slowly around, his pads tingling as he did. Before him stood Gorsedawn, her liquid-green eyes weighing heavily on him as he looked at her, regret pooling in their depths.

"I'm sorry, Darkfur. Really, I am." Gorsedawn looked away, her tail drooping as she spoke. "I was just so frightened. I thought you wouldn't trust me. And I...I didn't want to lose you."

The two warriors stood together in silence for a moment, before Darkfur stepped forward and bumped his head against hers in greeting. "I missed you."

Gorsedawn seemed to sag in relief at his words, slowly closing her eyes and pressing her head against his muzzle.

"Even though our loyalties may lie in different places, you are my friend, Gorsedawn. No matter how many battles we have to fight against one another, and no matter what happens between our Clans, when we are here, you will be my best friend." Darkfur assured her. "Promise?"

Gorsedawn wove her red-brown tail with his, her grateful eyes looking up at him. "Promise."

* * *

 **Yeah, yeah, I know. That was sappy. Sorry, I couldn't do any better than that. :)**

 **This story's challenge is from ChallangeClan. Go check them out!**

 **Thanks for reading, and thank you to ChallengeClan for giving me the inspiration!**


	4. More than Betrayal (DarkClan)

**More than** **Betrayal**

* * *

 _Her heart hung heavy as_ Gorsedawn rolled over in her nest, the harsh scent of ShadowClan dancing around her as she blinked her eyes open and surveyed the sleeping cats around her. Beside Gorsedawn, Doveheart lay with her soft white pelt pressed up closely against her daughter, the very faint scent of WindClan still clinging to it despite having already spent one quarter of a moon among ShadowClan.

 _Oh StarClan, did I make the right decision?_ She wondered, rolling to her paws and shaking the moss out of her pelt. Her pads stung as she thought back to the past moon, and the desperate, frightened lie that she had told her Clan.

In truth, she had never spoken face-to-face with StarClan in her life. Everything that she had told her parents, her younger siblings, and even her Clan, had been a lie. All of it.

Gorsedawn sat back down in her nest, neatly tucking her paws under her as she did and wrapping her tail around her tired body.

She thought back to that horrid night two moons ago when Echofang had shakily awoken her sister as she returned from the Gathering, fear shining in the ginger warrior's green eyes.

 _"What do you need?" Gorsedawn asked groggily, rolling over in her nest and nearly kicking Quietstream in the muzzle. The red-brown tabby she-cat that lay by Gorsedawn's side blinked awake, before quickly snapping to attention when she saw Echofang standing in the midst of the camp, moonlight bathing her bristling fur._

 _"Shush!" Echofang hissed, her eyes widening in terror and her fur puffing up as she nervously glanced around at the sleeping cats, hoping none of the other warriors would awake._

 _"Echofang? Gorsedawn? What are you doing?" Quietstream asked softly as she lifted herself to her paws and soothingly ran her tail down Echofang's spine. However, the movement that was intended to calm Echofang only made her more nervous, her claws sliding in and out in rapid movements._

 _"I can't tell you." Echofang breathed, her body shuddering as Gorsedawn pressed herself against her littermate's side._

 _"Here, let's get out of camp." Gorsedawn suggested quietly, waving her tail to Echosong and Quietstream as she led the two warriors out of the WindClan camp. "We don't want to wake anyone else."_

 _Together, Quietstream and Gorsedawn managed to lead the terror-stricken Echofang out of the midst of the sleeping warriors. The three she-cats slipped into the tall, waving moor grass and crouched there together, shielded from the revealing light of the moon._

 _Gently, Gorsedawn pushed Echofang down onto the earth, where the ginger she-cat tucked her paws beneath her and closed her eyes tightly._

 _"I'm sorry for waking you, Gorsedawn." Echofang whispered. "I'm just so scared. I had to tell you. I wouldn't have been able to sleep. Though I guess there's no point in hiding it now, since Quietstream is here."_

 _"What is it? What's bothering you?" Gorsedawn goaded gently, laying her red-brown tail across her sister's shoulders in an attempt to comfort the trembling form. Echofang, however, didn't answer. Instead, she looked up at Quietstream with huge, pleading eyes._

 _"Please, Quietstream. Please don't tell anyone. I'm begging you." Echofang meowed, her voice strained as she looked up at the small red-brown she-cat. Quietstream was silent for a moment, nervously shifting her weight as if wondering if she should make such a promise before she knew what it was she had to conceal._

 _Finally, she nodded. "I won't tell. Now, what's wrong?"_

 _Echofang held Quietstream's gaze for a moment, as if skeptically reading the older she-cat to see if she could really trust her word._

How I wish Darkfur was here instead of Quietstream. _Gorsedawn thought, mentally kicking herself for waking Quietstream._ I wouldn't have had to worry about his loyalty.

 _"I am carrying Antfrost's kits."_

And with that one, simple sentence, Gorsedawn's entire life was turned inside out. Often, she looked back on that moment and wondered if anything would have been different had it been Darkfur standing there next to Echofang rather than Quietstream. It would have been easier on Gorsedawn's nerves, that's for sure. Instead, she had endured constant worry as she hoped desperately that Quietstream would keep her word.

 _"Antfrost?" Gorsedawn meowed in shock. "But he's...he's_ ShadowClan _!"_

 _"I know." Echofang replied softly as Quietstream and Gorsedawn exchanged glances. "We met at the Gathering when we were still apprentices. We would meet at the Gatherings every moon, whether or not we were selected to go. It's easier than you would think to hide in plain sight." At this, Echofang smiled slightly before quickly sinking back into despair._

 _"Half-Clan kits haven't been born in generations." Quietstream remarked in astonishment._

 _"We're half-Clan." Echofang reminded her bitterly. "Alderbelly used to be ShadowClan."_

 _"We are_ not _Half-Clan." Gorsedawn insisted. "Alderbelly received his warrior name here in WindClan. He was a WindClan warrior when we were born, despite what his birth Clan might be."_

 _"What do I do, Gorsedawn? I'm carrying ShadowClan kits! They'll arrive in just a few moons. Then what do I do?" Echofang asked desperately._

 _"You could go to ShadowClan." Quietstream suggested softly. "If you go soon, you'll have enough time to make it look like you and Antfrost are together before you have his kits."_

 _"What? And leave my family? Leave WindClan?" Echofang shook her head decisively. "Besides, what makes you think ShadowClan will accept me?"_

 _"Alderbelly used to be ShadowClan, remember. Amberstar is his brother. Maybe Amberstar would do us a favor?" Gorsedawn added, thinking out loud. "Let me talk to Amberstar. Don't worry, Echofang. I'll get us to ShadowClan. No one will ever have to know about this."_

 _"What if Antfrost gets in trouble?" Echofang asked._

 _Gorsedawn hesitated, then shrugged mournfully. "There's nothing we can do about it. This is our only hope."_

After speaking with Amberstar at the next Gathering, the she and the ShadowClan had come up with a plan that would protect Echofang from the judgmental eyes of the Clan cats. Amberstar agreed to accept his kin into ShadowClan, and helped Gorsedawn to come up with a plan to get them there without suspicion.

 _Her legs trembled as Gorsedawn stepped to the front of the Gathering. She could feel the angry glares of the Clan leaders on her as she stood, the indignation rolling off of the gathered Clan cats, and the confusion in her own family's gaze as she sat down before them._

 _"Cats of all Clans!" She began, growling silently at the tremor in her voice. "I apologize for interrupting, but I have a message from StarClan."_

 _At this, ripples of surprise and skepticism streaked through the Clan cats._

This would be so much easier if I were a medicine cat. _Gorsedawn thought as she swallowed her fear and continued speaking._

 _"I was visited by StarClan three moons ago in a dream." She sunk her claws into the earth beneath her. "After much thought, I was able to decipher what they wanted me to do. I was told to take my family, and move to ShadowClan."_

 _Yowls of anger and astonishment erupted from the gathered cats. Among the Clans, Gorsedawn could see Doveheart and Alderbelly looking at her in disbelief._

 _"I also received news of this from StarClan." Amberstar meowed, silencing the angry yowls that echoed across the lake. "I will welcome you and your family into my Clan."_

 _"What do Doveheart, Alderbelly, Echofang, Hawkpaw, and Rowanpaw think? Do they, too, wish to join ShadowClan?" Dapplestar asked, her face betraying no emotion._

 _Gorsedawn felt sick as she looked down to where her family sat, eyes wide and shocked. After a moment, Echofang wove through the gathered cats to stand by her sister's side._

 _"I do." She said loudly, running her tail down Gorsedawn's spine in an attempt to soothe the red-brown she-cat. They stood together for a moment before they were joined by Alderbelly, Rowanpaw, Hawkpaw, and finally Doveheart._

 _"If it is StarClan's will, then we will follow." Alderbelly said, dipping his head to Dapplestar and Amberstar. "If you will allow us to, Dapplestar."_

 _"Of course." Dapplestar replied curtly._

With that, Gorsedawn became Gorsedawn of ShadowClan, and Echofang had moved into the nursery, officially carrying Antfrost's kits.

When they first arrived, the ShadowClan cats had obviously not trusted them one bit. However, with the relationship between Antfrost and Echofang blossoming, it helped the ShadowClan cats to accept the newcomers much more quickly into the Clan. Rowanpaw and Hawkpaw had shown almost no difficulty in switching Clans besides their initial hesitation, and Doveheart and Alderbelly had quickly proven their loyalty to their new Clan.

That left Gorsedawn feeling more alone than ever.

More than anything, she wanted to return to WindClan, to her home. She wanted to finish training her apprentice, she wanted to see Cloudwhisker and carry his kits, and more than anything, she wanted to see Darkfur and tell him the truth.

The red-brown she-cat stumbled to her paws and slipped out of the warriors den. Above her, the scent of sweet pine trees cascaded down and settled on her pelt. She loved the scent of the trees, but she missed the wind. She missed the feeling of freedom and grace as the wind twirled around her while she raced across the moor. The pines just didn't provide the same comfort that the wind did.

"Are you okay, Gorsedawn?" Gorsedawn looked up to see Grasswind padding toward her, his snowy-white pelt standing out like a cardinal in leaf-bare among the dark trees.

"No, but I don't think you have anything that can help me." She meowed truthfully.

Grasswind shrugged. "Herbs can cure almost anything."

"What about gut-wrenching guilt?" Gorsedawn flicked her tail as she sat down in defeat.

Grasswind's whiskers twitched in amusement. "I guess you're right."

Slowly, the white-furred tom padded over to sit down beside her, the warmth from his pelt offering her comfort and a feeling of safety.

"Do you miss WindClan? Is that what this is about?" He asked gently.

"I'm a loyal ShadowClan cat." She snapped, tail lashing slightly.

Grasswind laughed. "I know. That doesn't mean that you can't miss WindClan. You did grow up there, after all."

"It's not that I miss WindClan." Gorsedawn began slowly, choosing how to phrase her words very carefully. "I just don't want to be remembered as the warrior who hid such an important decision from her Clan."

"Or one who lied to them?" Grasswind added. Gorsedawn looked up at him, startled.

"How-"

"I was the one who told Echofang that she was carrying kits. I noticed two Gatherings ago. I didn't know whose they were, though. Not until you six joined ShadowClan." His whiskers twitched. "You did quite the favor for your littermate. You have loyalty that is stronger than Clan ties. You have loyalty to your family."

He paused to look at her.

"Life in the Clans would be much easier if more cats had that loyalty." Grasswind finished, before rising to his feet and slipping back into his den.

* * *

 **I know I've been focusing on Gorsedawn's betrayal a ton, but this challenge worked really well with it and I didn't have any better ideas.**

 **Thanks to DarkClan for inspiring me with this challenge. Check out the forum!**


	5. The Many Forms of Comfort (TorrentClan)

_This is all my fault._

The heavy burden of defeat and sorrow slowly sank down onto Jaycloud's shoulders, causing her to slump forward and place her nose in the still-wet fur of her tiny, motionless kit. Its mouth was open in what looked to be a desperate gasp for air, only to never taste the fresh wind from the moor as the life fled from the little kit's body.

The kit's scent burned in Jaycloud's throat, pain flashing through her eyes as she realized that before her lay a lost life. A life that had wanted to live, only to die just as life was thrust upon it. It was a life that would never live, a life that would never taste the sweet moor air and run side-by-side with her clanmates or never lay eyes on the setting sun as it reflected off of the rippling water of the lake.

 _StarClan, watch over my daughter. Guide Lakekit's paws as she joins your ranks._ Jaycloud begged silently, grief tightening in her throat.

"How is that one doing?" Turtlestar's nervous question brought Jaycloud back to reality, and sadly stepped away from Lakekit's motionless form to wrap herself around the tiny, mewling form of her one healthy kit, a cream-and-brown tom.

Turtlestar's question, however, was not meant for her. Instead, her mate's amber eyes were hovering on Kestrelpaw's ruffled brown pelt as the medicine cat apprentice frantically rasped his tongue over the cream-furred kit in front of him. The apprentice's orange eyes were wide and nervous as he worked frantically to get the tiny kit warmed up and breathing.

Kestrelpaw flicked his tail in response to his Clan leader's question, acknowledging that he had, in fact, heard it but did not wish to answer it.

Jaycloud closed her eyes and buried her nose in her suckling kit's pelt, breathing in his newborn scent and sending silent prayers up to StarClan as every fiber of her being wished that her kit's life would be saved.

 _Please, StarClan, you took Lakekit, let me have my other two. Let them live, I beg you._

"Why are you here and not Rabbitnose?" Turtlestar demanded angrily.

Jaycloud looked up at take in the sight of her mate standing over the cream-furred kit's motionless form, glaring angrily at Kestrelpaw's shivering, cowering form.

"Rabbitnose went to the Moonpool. I stayed back because of my paw. Jaycloud wasn't supposed to kit tonight! They're much too early." Kestrelpaw mewed softly, his orange eyes wide and pleading. "I'm sorry. I tried, I really did! They're just much too early!"

"Get out of my sight." Turtlestar growled. "You'll never be a medicine cat at this rate."

Shivering and muttering his apologies, Kestrelpaw fled the nursery, tail fluffed up and nervous.

"This one is alive." Jaycloud offered softly, lifting her head slightly to meet her seething mate's eyes. "And he is right: they are nearly a moon early."

Turtlestar's amber eyes blazed as he turned and padded toward Jaycloud's side, taking a seat on the nursery floor just behind her nest. Gently, Jaycloud placed her tail-tip on her mate's shoulder, trying to offer what little comfort she could despite the gnawing sorrow that splashed through her chest.

Turtlestar was silent for a long, frightening moment, his eyes softening and filling with grief as he looked down at Jaycloud's single suckling kit that wiggled and squirmed around, pawing at his mother's warm, brown pelt.

"I'll call in Milkpaw and Lichenpaw to take away the bodies." Turtlestar said finally, rising to her paws and turning toward the entrance with a large sweep of his tail.

"Wait. I've named them." Jaycloud meowed quietly.

"You what?" Turtlestar asked in disbelief. "Why?"

"I don't want them to travel to StarClan without a name of their own."

Hesitantly, Turtlestar padded back to stand before the cream-furred kit's motionless form. Gently, he lifted the tiny tom and placed him beside his sister's lifeless body.

"What are they?" The WindClan leader asked, wrapping his tail around the two kits.

"The she-cat is Lakekit, and the tom is Mallowkit." Jaycloud replied, grief causing her voice to shake.

She was silent for a heartbeat, deciding whether or not to voice the next question, before finally raising her head and swallowing her grief.

"Can we name the last one? Just in case he..." Jaycloud trailed off, unwilling to finish the thought.

"Of course." Turtlestar padded back to his mate and sat by her side, looking down at the remaining tom-kit.

"Flashkit?" Turtlestar offered after a heartbeat of silence.

Jaycloud nodded slowly. "Yes. I like that."

The brown she-cat lovingly rasped her tongue over Flashkit's cream-and-brown pelt as he snuggled closer to her belly.

"You know, you were a little hard on Kestrelpaw." Jaycloud said finally, looking up at her mate. "It wasn't his fault. They were born much too early. It's a miracle that Flashkit is still alive."

Turtlestar nodded solemnly. "I know. He did his best. When Rabbitnose returns from the Moonpool, I will let him know that Kestrelpaw did very well for his first kitting."

Jaycloud nodded. "Thank you."

Turtlestar nodded, quickly dipping his head to his mate and slipping out of the den, leaving Jaycloud alone with her tiny, nursing kit.

* * *

Jaycloud must have fallen asleep, for she awoke to a pale silver dawn light streaming into the nursery. Immediately, she rasped her tongue over Flashkit's tiny form, desperately hoping that he was still alive.

To her relief, the brown-and-cream tom wriggled under her touch, opening his mouth in a silent form of protest.

"Hello, Jaycloud."

The brown she-cat looked up in surprise at the sound of another cat's voice. When she lifted her head, her eyes lighted on the fluffy gray form of an unfamiliar cat. the scent of ShadowClan wafted toward her causing her fur to bristle and her teeth to bare threateningly.

Then, Jaycloud stopped as she recognized the cat as Volestep, the ShadowClan medicine cat.

"I'm sorry." She meowed, dipping her head slightly. "You startled me."

Volestep snorted, but he blinked in understanding.

"I understand." He responded, taking a few steps toward her as he swept his fluffy tail over the mossy floor of the nursery. "I just came in to check on you."

"Where are Lakekit and Mallowkit?" Jaycloud asked, her eyes darting to the place where her kits' bodies had lay the previously night.

"The bodies? Kestrelpaw took them out last night. Turtlestar buried them by the lake." Volestep replied, taking a seat beside the queen and peering over her shoulder at Flashkit's tiny body.

"Where is Rabbitnose?" Jaycloud asked suddenly. "Why are you here?"

"Rabbitnose...had some things he needed to take care of last night." Volestep said evasively. "I decided that I would make sure Kestrelpaw was doing alright. Seems he did well enough. Made it through his first kitting without any help."

"Two kits died." Jaycloud couldn't help but snap.

"And it wasn't his fault." Volestep hissed threateningly. "We both know they were early. That's why Rabbitnose went to the Moonpool. He never would've gone had he believed you would kit so soon."

"My kits are _dead_." Jaycloud repeated, her voice cracking with grief. "They are dead. They never got to live, and now they're dead."

"Honestly, this is one of the gentler ways to go." Volestep meowed with a shrug.

" _What_?" Jaycloud roared. "They died fighting for their first breath, a breath they could never take. I'm their _mother_. I was supposed to watch over them. I was supposed to help them live."

Surprisingly, Volestep's gaze had softened. He gently lay his tail over Jaycloud's brown flank as he spoke.

"And you did what you could, just as Kestrelpaw did his best. Their deaths were not your fault. Nor were they Kestrelpaw's, or Rabbitnose's, or even Turtlestar's. No cat could have prevented their deaths." He said softly. "But StarClan will watch over them. StarClan will guide them, and keep them for you until you can join them."

Volestep looked down to where Jaycloud lay, grief-filled eyes gazing up at him.

"You still have one little life that needs you." He added before sighing heavily and looking away.

"I know that you probably think that I have no idea what I'm talking about, being a medicine cat and all, but I've watched dozens of queens kit, and I've been there helping for most of them. One of the hardest lives to lose is that of an innocent kit, who never knew what they did to deserve such a quick death." Volestep paused, rising to his paws and making his way to the front of the den, fluffy tail waving through the chill morning air as he went. "But now they're watching over us in StarClan, guiding our paws so that maybe we can save the next little lives to come into our world."

Volestep left with a quick nod of his head, the scent of ShadowClan still wafting around Jaycloud in sharp, gritty clouds. Jaycloud stared at the place where the old gray tom had stood just a moment before, the comforting warmth of his words still twirling around in her head.

 _And to think they had come from a ShadowClan cat._

* * *

 **So this is my first challenge for TorrentClan, a forum which I recently joined. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it!**


	6. I Should be a Warrior (TorrentClan)

_Turtlestar's words echoed in the_ young medicine cat apprentice's ears, rising in volume until they thundered in his mind like the roar of a monster across the Thunderpath.

 _"Get out of my sight. You'll never be a medicine cat."_ Turtlestar had snarled, amber eyes blazing as he stood above the motionless form of Jaycloud's lifeless kit.

The wind whipped across Kestrelpaw's brown tabby pelt, sending a shiver down his spine as he slipped forlornly into the medicine cat's den, his fur brushing painfully against the stone opening. He let out a hiss of annoyance as he shook out his fur and finally made it into the comforting darkness of the den. Kestrelpaw blinked rapidly in an attempt to hasten his eyes' adjustment to the half light, before padding to the back of the den where he flopped into his mossy nest.

Kestrelpaw curled up into a ball, burying his nose and eyes under his tail and paws. Defeat and helplessness descended upon the young apprentice as he thought back to the grief-stricken looks on Turtlestar's and Jaycloud's faces.

 _Oh Rabbitnose,_ He groaned silently, rasping his tongue over his injured paw pad; the reason he was still in camp rather than with the other medicine cats at the Moonpool. _Why me? Why couldn't you have been here? Then they would be alive._

Kestrelpaw rolled over in his nest, stretching out his quickly cramping legs. _I should never have thought I could do this. I always knew I should be a warrior._

 _And now, I've killed a cat._

But not just one cat, no, Kestrelpaw had killed _two. Two kits_.

From his very first day as a new apprentice, Kestrepaw's paws had been itching to explore the territory, to hunt for prey, and to fight to defend his Clan. Instead, Turtlestar had condemned him to a life of smelly herbs, sickness, wounds, and vague prophecies. Thus is the life of a medicine cat.

Kestrelpaw rolled out of his nest and shook the moss out of his pelt. Wincing as he put weight on his wounded paw, Kestrelpaw limped to the opening of the den and gazed up at the silvery half-moon that glowed above the moor, bathing the WindClan camp in a eerie shine that looked just the way Kestrelpaw imagined StarClan to look.

As he gazed over the motionless camp, Kestrelpaw caught sight of a cat standing in the center of the camp, a black-and-white form whose belly seemed to glow with blazing orange fire. The cat turned to face Kestrelpaw, eyes reflecting silver moonlight as his gaze rested on the young apprentice. Wordlessly, the cat dipped his head to the tabby tom before turning and fleeing across the moor.

When Kestrelpaw blinked, the cat was gone.

 _What?_

Confused, he swept his gaze across the camp once more, searching for the mysterious cat who had so suddenly vanished. Seeing no sign of the cat, Kestrelpaw hesitantly left the comforting darkness of the medicine cat den and slowly stepped down into the center of the camp where the strange cat had stood. His fur fluffed up in surprise.

 _There are no paw prints._

"Kestrelpaw?"

He spun around, fur fluffing up in fear as he whirled to face the speaker. He feared that it would be Turtlestar, ready to further chastise him for his incompetence. Instead, he was met with the sight of Volestep's long-furred gray pelt. The ShadowClan medicine cat stepped out from his hiding place in the tall moor grass and joined Kestrelpaw in the moonlight.

"I need to talk to you." Volestep glanced around the camp, looking uncharacteristically nervous. "Alone, if you don't mind."

"Of course, Volestep." Kestrelpaw replied, dipping his head slightly. "Where's Rabbitnose?"

Volestep did not reply. Instead, he pushed past Kestrelpaw and disappeared into the medicine cat's den. Kestrelpaw glared after the tom, slightly annoyed.

 _Well, that's Volestep._

Kestrelpaw followed after the ShadowClan cat, once again glad to be in the comforting darkness of the den. Volestep sat across from him, the ShadowClan tom's green eyes looking troubled and nervous.

"Kestrelpaw..." Volestep began, hesitating. With a deep sigh, the gray tom finally continued. "Rabbitnose is dead."

Kestrelpaw froze, shock and panic coursing through him. His mouth went dry, and his head began to spin as he thought about the enormity of that one phrase.

"No." He breathed, almost refusing to believe it but silently understanding that it was useless to try and deny it. "No, no no no!"

"I'm sorry, Kestrelpaw." Volestep meowed softly, placing his fluffy tail-tip on the tabby apprentice's trembling shoulder. "He never woke up from his sleep beside the Moonpool. Rabbitnose was a great medicine cat. We won't forget him quickly."

"Volestep, you don't understand." Kestrelpaw choked out desperately. "I can't be WindClan's medicine cat. I can't. I'm not ready. Two cats died tonight because Rabbitnose wasn't here to help."

Confusion darted across Volestep's mournful expression. "What happened?"

"Jaycloud kitted." Kestrelpaw told him, reluctantly. "I didn't know what to do. Two of her kits died, and it's _all my fault._ I should've been a warrior."

Without warning, Volestep cuffed the WindClan apprentice's ear, causing the apprentice to jump back in shock.

"What was that for?" He demanded.

"Kestrepaw, Rabbitnose knew what he was doing when he made you his apprentice. He did not waste two moons on training you for nothing. He knew that you were the cat that WindClan needed. He wouldn't have made you his apprentice otherwise." Volestep replied, voice hard and stern but eyes gentle and understanding.

"I know what it is to lose a mentor. I know that these next few moons will be hard for you, but Nutpaw and I will visit you to make sure that everything is alright, and if you ever need help, know that Mudbelly is just across the stream, and he will help another cat who is in need." Volestep gently head-butted the hopeless tabby apprentice. "But you have to promise to try. Can you do that? Try and take Rabbitnose's place, no matter how hard it is?"

Kestrelpaw's mind was whirling with a hundred different reasons why he could never become the medicine cat that Rabbitnose was, but he bit his tongue and nodded mutely, knowing that it would be pointless to argue with the ShadowClan medicine cat. Volestep gave him a hard look, seeming unsatisfied.

Kestrelpaw swallowed back his grief and managed to choke out a response. "I'll try."

"Good." Volestep nodded. "I'll stay the night here to make sure that everything is alright with Jaycloud. "You don't have any other almost-due queens, do you?"

"Well...Hickorystep is due within the next half moon, but they might come early, like Jayclouds..." Kestrelpaw looked away uncomfortably.

"When I head back to ShadowClan I'll let Mudbelly know that she's expecting. He can help you when she's ready to kit." Volestep said, nodding as he rose to his paws.

"What if he doesn't have time to get here? What if I have to do it alone?" Kestrelpaw asked quickly, fear tinging the tabby apprentice's voice.

Volestep fixed Kestrelpaw in a patient gaze. "You'll do fine, Kestrelpaw. It wasn't your fault."

Kestrelpaw opened his mouth to argue, but Volestep flicked his thick tabby tail over the apprentice's mouth, giving the WindClan apprentice a mouth full of sharp-scented fur.

"Now, if you'll kindly get your teeth out of my tail, I will go and tell Turtlestar about Rabbitnose." Volestep snapped. Kestrelpaw rolled his eyes as he spat the gray fur out of his mouth.

"You know, Rabbitnose didn't mean to leave you like this." Volestep said suddenly, pausing in the mouth of the den.

Kestrelpaw nodded curtly. "I know."

Volestep regarded the apprentice for a moment, before slipping out into the moon-bathed camp.

As soon as he was alone, Kestrelpaw flopped back down into his nest, the weight of defeat crushing him into the earth. His whole world, which had been so organized just that morning, had shattered around him like the shell remains of a hatched robin. Nothing made sense anymore.

 _I didn't even get to say goodbye._

More than every, Kestrelpaw craved his mentor's presence beside him. Just knowing that he would never see the tri-colored tom again made him wish for Rabbitnose's calm presence even more.

 _Wait. He_ did _say goodbye._

Kestrelpaw thought back to the mysterious cat that he had seen in the WindClan camp just before Volestep's appearance. Looking back on it, he felt like a mouse-brain for not immediately recognizing his mentor's black, white, and ginger pelt.

 _He came to say goodbye. And then he left forever._

Steeling himself, Kestrelpaw rolled back onto his paws and ran his tongue over the ruffled fur on his chest.

 _I may not be ready, but I'm all WindClan have left._

* * *

 **Now this is my second challenge for the forum TorrentClan! I had a ton of fun writing this, and I hope you enjoyed reading it.**

 **Thanks!**


	7. What Will Become of Me? (RiseClan)

_The tiny, desperate mewls of_ the dying kits still echoing in his ears, Talonblaze blinked open his eyes and looked around.

Before him lay the vast expanse of what he assumed to be StarClan, shimmery silver trees surrounded by waving strands of bright green grass. The scent that wafted toward him was filled with prey-scent, mixed with the sweet aroma of grass and freshly-fallen dew. Without realizing it, Talonblaze began to purr happily as a warm breeze ruffled his pelt, wrapping him in the comfort of StarClan.

"Miss me?" Talonblaze whirled around at the sound of a familiar voice behind him, only to wrinkle his nose in disgust at the sight that lay before him.

A ragged-furred she-cat stood before him, surrounded by dark, looming trees that sent shivers down his spine at the very sight of them. The she-cat was surrounded by thick, unwelcoming undergrowth that clawed at her pelt with talon-like, empty branches.

"Vinewhisker?" He asked finally, regaining his words after the initial shock of seeing the matted pelt of his former mentor. "What happened to you?"

Vinewhisker laughed, the sound coming from her throat hoarse and wild, nearly scaring Talonblaze out of his pelt.

"The Dark Forest, mouse-brain. That's where those fox-hearted star cats sent me."

"With good reason." A new voice growled.

Turning back to gaze at what Talonblaze assumed to be StarClan, he saw four cats standing before him. The largest cat- though she was still far from large -he recognized fairly quickly. It was his former apprentice, Waterpaw. The young she-cat had died fighting against a fox that had invaded ThunderClan territory.

Behind Waterpaw, there were three forms that were absolutely tiny even in comparison to the small ThunderClan apprentice. Their eyes were fixed on him in unblinking, slightly fearful stares, and they all pressed close against Waterpaw's gray-brown tabby pelt, as if seeking protection.

"Do you know who they are?" Waterpaw asked, flicking her tail to the three kits standing by her side.

Swallowing regret that he hadn't realized was choking him, Talonblaze nodded.

"It's because of them that we're standing here right now." Vinewhisker snapped, stepping toward the border, though still staying a good tail-length away from Waterpaw.

"No." Waterpaw corrected, her voice seeming to betray sadness that she was desperately trying to hide. "It is because of Talonblaze's actions that we now have to make this decision."

"I was only following the warrior code." Talonblaze pointed out, indignant. "They were half-Clan. Half-Clan kits are against the Code."

"As is the taking of innocent lives." Waterpaw sat down slowly, eyes sympathetic though her voice betrayed no sign of emotion.

Confusion and fear swirled through Talonblaze's mind as the gravity of the situation he was now in sank down on him. He had murdered three innocent kits, but he had done it in the name of the warrior code. He wasn't trying to break the Code! He was trying to _uphold_ it.

"So what is to become of me?" He asked nervously, wrapping and unwrapping his tail form around his paws as fear seized him. He didn't want to go to the Place of No Stars. He wanted to run with his StarClan ancestors, in the place of light and honor. Being condemned to the Dark Forest for the rest of eternity was the worst thing he could imagine.

"That's what we have to figure out, mousebrain." Vinewhisker hissed, rolling her eyes and clawing impatiently at the ground. "Right, Starrypaw?"

Waterpaw ignored Vinewhisker's jibe and nodded silently.

"Your intentions were good, but your actions unforgivable." Waterpaw began, seeming to choose her words carefully. "StarClan is out of your reach, but the Place of No Stars is much too great a punishment."

The kits by Waterpaw's side blinked indignantly, looking as if they were about to argue, but instead keeping their mouths shut.

Vinewhisker's eyes lit up with a dark flame at the fight of the kits' response, her tail lashing as she stepped closer to the StarClan border, earning her a hard look from Waterpaw, who wordlessly unsheathed her claws.

"How about we let the _kits_ decide." Vinewhisker crowed in a low voice, eyes flashing with malice.

Talonblaze's blood ran cold, and he froze as terror coursed through him, sending a violent shiver down his spine. He looked to Waterpaw in dismay, silently pleading with his eyes that she would not agree to that, and that she would see what Vinewhisker was trying to do.

 _Don't you see?_ He yowled silently in desperation. _She's trying to trap me. She knows they will send me to the Place of No Stars. That's what she_ wants.

Instead, Waterpaw nodded slowly despite the reluctance that flashed through her amber eyes. Raising her head, Waterpaw met Vinewhisker's vengeful gaze.

"Fine." The gray-brown apprentice said. "They may each vote. "Dandelionkit?"

The small black tom by Waterpaw's side looked up at her for a brief moment, before fixing his unblinking amber eyes on Talonblaze. Unnerved and beginning to feel sick, Talonblaze fixed his eyes on his paws and focused on keeping his legs from shaking.

"Place of No Stars." Talonblaze's heart leaped painfully to his throat as desperation claws at his belly.

"Rainkit?" Waterpaw asked after a brief silence.

Talonblaze could feel the brown tabby she-kit's eyes fixed on him, but he did not raise his eyes from his paws. He concentrated on taking slow, even breaths in an attempt to hide his fear. Beside him, he could practically feel Vinewhisker's glee at seeing him writhe like this. It was painfully obvious that she was sure he was condemned to the Place of No Stars. Oh, what Talonblaze would give if he could take back what he did!

"StarClan." The little she-kit said finally, earning her a glare from her littermate and sending a flutter of grateful hope through Talonblaze's chest. He looked up at the tiny kit, voicing his thanks through the look her gave her.

He was tempted to drop his gaze again as Waterpaw looked down at the last of the litter, but he fought the urge, his desperation forcing him to watch.

The little brown tom fixed Talonblaze in a gaze so full of wisdom and understanding that he blinked in surprise. Behind that, though, there was sadness and uncertainty. Talonblaze wanted to cry out, he wanted to tell the kit that he was sorry, and that he would do anything if it would let him take back what he had done.

After a moment, the brown tom-kit looked up at Waterpaw with a hesitating glance. Waterpaw nodded, goading his answer from him.

"Come on, Sagekit." Dandelionkit growled in annoyance, flattening his ears against his tiny head. "He _killed_ us."

And with that remark, Talonblaze knew that all hope was gone. Every fiber of hope in him died as Sagekit again fixed him in an uncertain glance before finally giving his response.

"Place of No Stars."


	8. The First, The Last (TorrentClan)

The two didn't pay attention to him very often. He didn't know why, but as they continued to ignore his presence and stay absorbed in whatever wonders the smelly leaves and dark nooks of the bush bases had to offer, he began to convince himself that he liked to be left alone. It was easier to believe that lie than to try and earn the other two den inhabitants' approval.

There was one time when they would pay attention to him, though, and that was when the big light shone down right above them. If water fell from the sky, or if the light was covered, then the two would continue about their strange work and ignore him. When the light was right above them, then the smaller of the two, Walker, would take him out from under the stifling confines of the bush and they would walk under the sweet-smelling trees for a while. Usually the walks were pretty short, but he didn't care. Those brief moments of feeling complete and absolute freedom were the best parts of the light time. He lived for those moments, eyes fixed above as he waited for the light to reach its peak and see Walker impatiently flicking his tail as he motioned him out of then den.

Just now, he snapped his gaze down from the light and blinked expectantly at the entrance to the den. It was time, but only Watcher was here. He kneaded the ground impatiently with his paws, and lashed his tail. _Walker come on!_

Watcher snapped his green eyes onto him and he froze, ashamedly looking down at his paws while he could still feel the harsh gaze of the older cat on his fur. _I'm sorry Watcher, I just want to go out!_

After a moment of silence, Watcher returned to his work, carefully sorting the funny-smelling leaves and storing them away safely.

He placed his head back on his paws and sighed heavily. _I just want to go out..._

* * *

He breathed in deeply as the wind ruffled his pelt and he could feel the light wrapping him in its warm embrace. Walker had returned to the den, and the two had finally been able to leave for his coveted walk. He could feel his throat vibrating as he joyfully sank his claws into the leaf-strewn earth and opened his jaws to drink in the scent of freedom and utter bliss.

Walker trudged along beside him, his tail lashing as he walked and his gaze fixed on the path ahead. He seemed to have absolutely no interest in the wonderful sights and smells and even _tastes_ that wafted around the two, but he didn't care. He was out and he was free and that was all that mattered!

"Promise!"

He froze, fur bristled and claws deep into the earth. What was that? Where was it coming from?

"Promise! Promise! Promise!"

He twitched his ears, confusedly trying to understand what was going on. What was he experiencing? What is it?

"Promise! Hey, Promise!"

He didn't like it; something wasn't right! It hurt his ears!

He dropped down onto the earth and clawed at his ears, trying to make it stop. _Please, stop! I don't understand!_

A moment later, he felt teeth on the scruff of his next and he whirled around, frantically kicking out his paws and trying to wriggle out of the grip. Whoever had grabbed him let him go, and he darted off into the bushes, fear pulling every limb into a streaking run. Leaves whipped him and burrs clawed him as he ran, but he didn't care. He had to make it stop! _Make it stop!_

A weight pressed down upon him, pushing him down onto his belly and pinning him to the earth. The blood pounded in his earth, and he wiggled and squirmed in a desperate attempt to get free.

 _Let me go! I want to go back! I don't understand!_

"Stop struggling, silly! Calm down!" A sound came from above him. A _sound_. He froze in astonishment, finally beginning to understand.

 _I can_ hear _you?!_

A laugh sounded, and it filled him with a joy much more pure and strong than the prickle he would get from the walks.

The weight suddenly disappeared from off of his shoulders, and he quickly scrambled to his paws.

Standing in front of him, was a tiny orange tabby she-cat. She gazed up at him, and laughed at the look of surprise that must have been written across his face.

"Come on!"

Before he could protest, she had darted away into the bushes.

* * *

He desperately chased after her. She was the first and the only thing that he could actually _hear_ , and he wasn't about to let that slip away from him without a fight.

The tiny she-cat led him to a shiny pool of water that shimmered and sparkled in the light. He slowed as he neared it, an odd feeling of uncertainty pooling in his belly. The she-kit looked back at him and laughed, before running to the edge of the pool.

"Come on, Promise! Take a drink!"

Slowly, he stepped forward and obediently took a sip from the shiny pool, letting the cool water leak down his throat as the darkness descended upon him.

* * *

"You have to come with me, and you know it."

Rookwing took a shaky breath and slowly shook her head. _Why did I let this happen? How could I be so stupid?_

Reepicheep sighed. "Then what are you going to do?"

"I don't know." Rookwing replied quietly. "But I just _can't_ leave my Clan. They're my family, Reepicheep."

"So you're willing to choose your family over the lives of our kits?" He growled.

"I didn't say that!" Rookwing snapped, her fur bristling. "But why should I have to be the one to leave my family behind? Why can't you be the one to leave?"

Reepicheep's tail lashed and he lowered his gaze to his paws. Rookwing knew she had struck a nerve, but she didn't care. How dare he force her to give up everything if even he was willing to do so?

"I'm not strong enough." Reepicheep whispered, shame in his voice and sorrow in his beautiful green eyes. Those eyes. They had once held so much hope and joy as he had gazed at Rookwing, but now as they looked down at her swollen belly, they showed only pain and defeat. "I'm not strong enough to watch the ones I love most in the world fight for a rock or a tree and die. I'm not a fighter, I'm a searcher. I search for food and leave when there isn't any. I'm not strong enough to keep my paws planted in one place."

"Then I guess this is goodbye." Rookwing finally said, refusing to let any emotion into her words when on the inside her heart screamed with sorrow. It screamed for assurance and it screamed to have Reepicheep always by her side.

Reepicheep looked up, eyes filled with hurt, and opened his mouth to object before closing it a heartbeat later. "I guess so. I'm sorry, Rookwing."

"So am I." Rookwing replied, turning away from the cat she loved and walking back into the bushes and closer to the smell of her Clan. She paused briefly, looking back over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of Reepicheep's moon-lit sandy pelt, but he had already disappeared into the night.

* * *

He blinked his eyes open, confused. _What was that about?_

"Promise?"

He whirled around to face the gray she-cat he had seen in his dream standing in front of him, her eyes looking him up and down nervously and her tail twitching uncertainly. She looked so different from the cat he had seen in his dream, but he knew it was her. Her pelt glimmered with stars but her eyes still held the same love in them that he had seen before.

 _Who are you, and why can I hear you?_

"I'm your mother, Promise." The she-cat replied after a moment.

 _Is that what I'm called? Promise?_

"Yes, that's what Volestep named you." She replied.

 _I don't understand_.

Rookwing looked down at her paws, sorrow pooling in her eyes. "I know, and I am so sorry. I didn't want it to turn out like this."

Promise didn't quite know what to do. He took a hesitant step forward and placed his tail comfortingly across her shoulders.

"I made a mistake." Rookwing began. "I loved at cat I shouldn't have. He was the best cat I had ever known, but our bond was forbidden by the warrior code. That night that you saw, I had to choose between your father and the warrior code. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do.

"When I returned to ShadowClan, I had to tell Yewstar that the kits I was carrying were Reepicheep's. She was furious, and the Clan agreed that I could only stay with them until I had kitted. Once my kits were weaned, I would have to leave the Clan and take you with me.

"I died the day I kitted, and your sister died before nightfall, leaving you all alone at the mercy of ShadowClan and the warrior code." Rookwing paused, turning to rasp her tongue over Promise's head.

"Before I died, I made Volestep promise that if anything happened to me, he would take care of my kits. It's thanks to him that you're still alive. He pleaded with Yewstar, and promised that he would take full responsibility for you. When he learned you were deaf, he took you to his den and watched over you there, to be sure you wouldn't wander off and get hurt. He's the one you call Watcher. He's my brother."

Promise nodded in understanding. _Why don't they let me leave the den?_

Rookwing smiled sadly. "You can't hear. He wants to make sure you don't get hurt. I know it doesn't seem like it, but Volestep really does care for you."

Promise sat in silence for a moment, mulling the thoughts over in his head. Finally, he turned back to his mother.

 _Why are you telling me this?_

"I want you to know that you are not alone in the world, Promise. You will grow to be a great cat, and a great warrior. Your destiny holds more than sitting in the medicine den all day watching Volestep and Nutpaw sort herbs. I promise you." Rookwing whispered fiercely.

After a moment of silence, Rookwing rose to her paws. "I have to leave you now, my precious."

He wanted to scream _Don't!_ , but something inside of him held the words back. _Will I ever see you again?_ He asked, instead.

"Yes, you will see me very soon. I'm going to help you become the cat StarClan planned for you to be." Rookwing promised. "But now you need to return to ShadowClan. You sister will take you."

As Rookwing's starry pelt faded away, the tiny orange she-cat reappeared, dashing away into the underbrush and calling his name over and over again.

"Promise! Promise! Promise!"


	9. Initials (SandClan and FireClan)

"I'm so _tired_ , Jackaldawn. Can we go back to camp _please_?"

Jackaldawn rolled her eyes in amusement at the dramatically exhausted apprentice's voice and casually flicked her tail into the younger cat's face.

"You're tired, Gullpaw? Now I wonder why that would be? Was someone up too late at the Gathering last night?" Jackaldawn teased, not slowing her pace in the slightest as she padded along the rocky shore of the lake. "Maybe we'll have to keep the apprentices home next time if you're too tired for border patrol the next day."

"Gullpaw!" Came an indignant mewl. Jackaldawn laughed and peered over her shoulder to see her apprentice's littermate ready to hurl herself onto the other apprentice.

"Emberpaw! Calm down! This is not the time for games." Jackaldawn slowed her pace and looked behind her impatiently, her tail lashing as she saw Spottedheart step between the two apprentices, the ginger-and-white she-cat's fur bristling in irritation.

 _At this rate, we're never going to get through this border patrol_. Jackaldawn thought with a sigh. She reluctantly turned and padded over to the other three cats and placed her tail-tip on Spottedheart's shoulder.

"Alright, we'll take a _very_ short rest. I want to get back to camp before the sun sets _entirely._ "

At Jackaldawn's words, the two apprentices sagged in relief, though Spottedheart cast a disapproving look towards the deputy. Though Jackaldawn knew Spottedheart would never voice her objections to her orders, she could feel the older she-cat's dissatisfaction prickling at her pelt.

 _Why does this have to be so hard?_ Jackaldawn flicked her tail nonchalantly, doing her best to ignore the warrior's judgmental gaze when really her paws were burning with uncertainty. _I'll never make a good leader if I waver every time someone questions me!_

Despite having been the RiverClan deputy for nearly two moons, Jackaldawn could still feel the uncertainty and disbelief her Clanmates had for her position. She was doing the best she could to be the best warrior and deputy that she could be for RiverClan, but it still didn't seem to be enough.

 _It's because of that stupid mouebrain Clearcreek._

A tiny part of her felt bad for her anger toward the old medicine cat, but her indignance was stronger, and it pushed the guilt away. This was his fault after all, wasn't it?

For the first three moons of her apprenticeship, Jackaldawn had been apprenticed to the old brown tom, and he had trained her to one day take his place as the medicine cat of RiverClan. However, as Jackaldawn's time as his apprentice went on, her discontentment grew until she finally quit her training and begged Mothstar to let her train as a warrior apprentice. It had taken a lot to convince the two toms, but eventually, Jackaldawn had been successful and Mothstar granted her a warrior mentor.

 _And everything turned out just fine. I mean, look at me now!_ Jackaldawn thought with a smile. _Deputy of RiverClan_.

Despite these thoughts, the young she-cat did still have her doubts. If all the warriors in her Clan were going to question her leadership because of her medicine cat past, then would she really make a good leader?

"Jackaldawn, we should probably head back now." Spottedheart hinted, her tail lashing impatiently.

Jackaldawn started, jarred out of her thoughts by the older she-cat's voice. The young deputy looked up and was surprised to see the sky already very close to the dark, glimmering blue of the night sky. The sun was barely more than a fiery streak far on the horizon.

 _Great StarClan that was fast!_

Jackaldawn jumped to her paws and flicked her tail to the two apprentices. "Spottedheart is right. We need to get back now. Come on!"

Emberpaw and Gullpaw were on their feet in an instant, the two of them being pushed along and herded by Spottedheart as Jackaldawn led the way back to camp. The RiverClan deputy's pelt bristled uncomfortably as she walked, the young warrior painfully aware of the darkness that descended around them and the silvery stars that were beginning to peer through the black fur of the Silverpelt.

 _Mothstar is not going to be happy..._ Jackaldawn felt dread rattle in her belly, rolling back and forth until it seemed a large boulder was pulling her down.

"Jackaldawn, there you are!"

Jackaldawn had hardly set paw in the RiverClan camp before she caught sight of Mothstar's wiry black form emerging from his den to greet her. His brow was creased with worry, and his eyes flickered slightly with confusion.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, his yes briefly flicking to the other three cats that made up the young deputy's patrol. "When you didn't come back, I thought-"

Jackaldawn flicked her tail. "We're fine, really. The apprentices have had a long day, we were just tired."

Mothstar lifted his head slightly in a half-hearted nod, still looking as if he didn't quite understand. "Oh, okay. Well, good. You can get some fresh-kill, then you might want to head to your nest soon."

"Thanks Mothstar!" Jackaldawn meowed as soon as the RiverClan leader had finished speaking. She quickly bounded away from him, a shiver of discomfort snaking its way down her spine.

 _Weird old tom._ She spat silently.

Mothstar was a wonderful leader and a good, proud warrior, but something about him just made Jackaldawn's fur stand on end. She couldn't quite place it, but something about his wiry black forma and shifty eyes made her uncomfortable.

"Heading to you den?" Croaked an old voice near Jackaldawn's ear. The gray-and-brown she-cat started, claws unsheathing and digging into the soft earth beneath her.

"Oh!" She cried, catching sight of who she had nearly barreled over. "Clearcreek, hi."

The old medicine cat nodded politely. "Jackaldawn."

"What are you doing still awake?"

The old tom snorted. "Have you been out of my den for so long that you've forgotten about the Half Moon?"

"Oh, that." Embarrassed, Jackaldawn flicked her gaze up to Silverpelt and noticed that it was indeed the night of the medicine cats' gathering; the shining white moon grinned down at her in a silent reminder.

"I'm leaving now. Want to come?" Clearcreek goaded, slowly turning toward the entrance to camp.

Jackaldawn suppressed a growl. _What does this old lump not understand about me being the RiverClan deputy! I'm not your apprentice anymore!_

Instead of hotly voicing her displeasure, Jackaldawn pointedly sat down and neatly wrapped her tabby tail around her paws. "No thank you, Clearcreek."

The old tom shrugged in resignation, and Jackaldawn avoided his gaze as he slipped out of the camp.

* * *

"Get out of our territory you mangy tunnel-digger!"

"I _told_ you I need to see Clearcreek!"

Jackaldawn started awake, her pelt bristling and her heart hammering in her chest.

 _What's going on? What's happening?_

She sprinted out of the den, scrambling to a halt when she caught sight of her Clanmates bristling and spitting and they wove around an unfamiliar tom standing in the center of the camp.

 _An attack?_ Jackaldawn opened her jaw and narrowed her eyes at the strong scent of WindClan. _What's WindClan doing in our camp? And why just one of them?_

The cat was a black, and white tom, though Jackaldawn caught sight of fiery red fur on his lean underbelly. The tom was small and thin, though she could see well-defined muscles rippling under his tri-colored pelt.

"Whats going on? Where is Mothstar?" Jackaldawn demanded, leaping up onto a nearby stone so she could be seen by her Clanmates.

After a few heartbeats, the RiverClan warriors quieted down, though their hostility and anger was still very apparent.

"This WindClan furball insists that he has a right to our territory!" Spottedheart growled.

"I said no such thing!" The tom snapped, his tail lashing angrily. "I have a right to be on your territory to visit another medicine cat as long as I don't steal any prey or disrupt anything of your Clan's."

Recognition flickered inside Jackaldawn, and she silently berated herself. _That's Rabbitnose, the WindClan medicine cat!_ The RiverClan deputy remembered meeting him at her last visit to the Moonpool, when he was a new apprentice to Cloudberry, the WindClan medicine cat.

"All right, Spottedheart, thank you. Turtlestar and I can take it from here." Jackaldawn paused a heartbeat, passing her gaze over the Clan. "Where is Turtlestar?"

"He left for the dawn patrol just before this problem showed up in our territory. He should be back soon." Leaftail responded.

Jackaldawn nodded her thanks to the mottled tom and flicked her tail toward the WindClan medicine cat, gesturing for him to follow her as she padded down off the rock and slipped into Mothstar's den.

"Thanks, I thought they were gonna tear my pelt off." Rabbitnose meowed good-naturedly.

Jackaldawn smiled. "Spottedheart is a great warrior, but she gets ahead of herself sometimes."

Amusement flickered in Rabbitnose's eyes before fading away and becoming overshadowed with a grim seriousness.

"Jackaldawn, I said I came to talk to Clearcreek, but really I need to talk to either you or Mothstar. But I can't stay long, Mousestar doesn't know I'm here." He said fervently. "It's about Clearcreek."

"What about him?" Jackaldawn asked, a deep sense of foreboding descending upon her and making her feel as if her paws had been swallowed by stones.

"He didn't come to the Moonpool last night." Rabbitnose started. Jackaldawn opened her mouth to speak, but he flicked his tail and continued. "Cloudberry and I were worried about him, so I came to see if everything was all right here in RiverClan... Clearcreek didn't come back last night, did he?"

Jackaldawn stopped. She didn't know. _What kind of deputy am I if I don't know who's on the dawn patrol or whether or not my own medicine cat comes back from the Moonpool?_

"I found him on my way here. He had been hit by a monster on the Thunderpath down by Twoleg Place." Rabbitnose admitted.

"Was he...?"

Panic seized Jackaldawn as the tri-colored tom shook his head in a grim announcement. Clearcreek was dead; RiverClan didn't have a medicine cat.

"No, no he can't be dead." She whispered frantically. "He didn't have an apprentice, Rabbitnose!"

"Didn't he?" The tom looked hard at her and cocked his head.

"I'm not a medicine cat, Rabbitnose! I'm the RiverClan deputy, for StarClan's sake I can't be the medicine cat too!" Jackaldawn snapped.

"But you got pretty far in your training. It looked to me like you were going to get your full name the moon after I met you." He replied.

"Except that I didn't go back to the Moonpool because _warriors_ don't visit, the Moonpool." She spat, getting more upset with each word. "I'm not made to be a medicine cat, that's not my place!"

"Hey, it's okay. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." Rabbitnose said softly, gently laying his tail across her shoulders. "Tell Mothstar about what happened, and I'll go back to camp and try to come up with some excuse for me to come over here without Mousestar knowing about Clearcreek and be your stand-in medicine cat until RiverClan can get things figured out. I'll come around at sunset, have a cat at the border to turn me away if you decide you don't want my help."

"Thank you, Rabbitnose. I'll tell Mothstar." Jackaldawn did her best to swallow her panic as she rose to her paws and followed the spotted tom to the camp entrance. "Leaftail! Vixenpaw! Please escort Rabbitnose to the border.

Once the three cats had disappeared from sight, Jackaldawn bowed her head and sighed heavily, a battle raging inside of her that she felt she could never win. _Why StarClan? I've always wanted by destiny to be that of a warrior, but are my paws meant for a different path?_

* * *

Cool silver starlight rippled across Jackaldawn's brown-and-gray pelt as she strode along the edge of the stream behind Cloudberry, Volepaw, and Squirrelear. Beside her walked Rabbitnose and Mudbelly, the warmth and comfort from their pelts helping to calm the nerves that buzzed inside of the RiverClan she-cat.

After Clearcreek's death, Rabbitnose had stayed with RiverClan, just as he had promised. For a moon, Jackaldawn had fought with herself on what was her path and where did StarClan want her to go. Finally, she had given in to Rabbitnose's constant nagging and prodding and had announced herself as the official medicine cat of RiverClan, much to Mothstar's dismay.

But it really hadn't just been Rabbitnose that convinced her. For the entire moon, Clearcreek had been at the front of her mind, and every evening she would look up to the stars and ask him if she should take his place as medicine cat. And every evening, her stomach would roil with an uncomfortable, sickening feeling as she thought about it.

Finally, after a moon of asking, then sickening feeling didn't come. She was finally at peace. She was finally ready.

"Ready?" Rabbitnose murmured to her as the medicine cats reached the edge of the Moonpool's cove. Jackaldawn nodded, and followed her mentor down to stand beside the pool, her paws sliding into the pawprints left behind by the ancient cats of the Clans from many seasons before.

Rabbitnose sat down beside the pool, tucking his paws beneath him and looking across the silvery water, the ripples sending the moonlight flickering up over his already startling pelt. Jackaldawn and Cloudberry settled in on either side of him, and Squirrelear, Volepaw, and Mudbelly joined them on Jackaldawn's left.

"Today I wish to bring Jackaldawn into the ranks of a full medicine cat." Rabbitnose proclaimed, flicking his eyes to Jackaldawn for a moment before looking back across the pool. I, Rabbitnose, medicine cat of WindClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon Jackaldawn. After much difficulty, she has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with your help, she will serve her Clan for many moons."

The tri-colored tom paused, and turned to look at the RiverClan she-cat. "Jackaldawn, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivary between Clan and Clan and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of you life?"

"I do." Jackaldawn said. _And I mean it. RiverClan don't need me as a warrior, they need me to be their medicine cat._

"Then in StarClan's name I welcome you to the full rank of a medicine cat. StarClan honors your thoughtfulness and your willingness to serve your Clan, and recognizes you as a full medicine cat of RiverClan." Rabbitnose smiled at Jackaldawn, and the two took a sip from the Moonpool, each going their separate ways to separate dreams.


End file.
